crandall



(No Model.) 3 SheetsSheet 11 I J. A. GRANDALL.

FIRE ESCAPE.

No. 800,308. Patented June 10, 1884.

WITJVESSE (No Model) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. A. ORANDAL'L.

FIRE ESCAPE.

No. 300,368. Patented June 10. 1884.

ZJWEJVTOR N. PEYERS Phctollhsognphnr. washbu mn. 04 C.

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

J. A.'0RANDALL.

FIRE ESCAPE.

No. 800,308. Patented June 10, 1884.

n. Pn'wi Pmwuxm uen Wanhlnglclk 11c.

UNITED STATES PATENT Urricn.

JESSE A. ORANDALL, OF BROOKLYN, NEYV YORK, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF, JOHN XVOOD, AND XVM. H. FLANDROWV, ALL OF SAME PLACE.

FIRE-ESCAPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 300,308, dated June 10, 1884.

Application filed February 7, 188-1. (N0 model.)

10 all whmn it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JESSE A. CRANDALL, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire-Escapes; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of refereneemarked thereomwhich form part of this specification, in which- Figure 1. is a side elevation of the fire-escape, showing the same raised. Fig. 2 is a similar view with the ladder in a folded position. Fig. 3 is a plan view showing the bridge extended. Fig. 4 is an end elevation showing the ladder raised.

The object of my invention is to apply an extensible fire-escape mounted on a wheelcarriage, with means whereby one person may easily and rapidly reach a window in the upper portion of a building; and the nature of my invention consists in certain novel devices, hereinafter explained, by means of which I accomplish the above-named results.

Before describing my invention I will state that it is well known that extension-levers or lazy-tongs have been used, and also extension-levers applied to carriages have also been used, in fire-escapes. These devices I broadly disclaim.

I will now describe my invention, reference being had to the annexed drawings.

A A designate two horizontal reaches, the front transverse bar of which is provided with a king-bolt, A. to the front ends of the reaches, and it afiords the pivotal connection of the said front trans verse bar with the axle A of the front wheels),

The rear ends of the reaches A A are rigidly connected to the rear elevated portion, B, of

the axle B of the rear wheels. This constitutes the carriage-support of my improved fire-escape. The rear axle is rigidly braced by bars 13 B to the reaches, and the reaches are rigidly connected by transverse bars 0 0, near the rear axle, and also by a transverse bearing-bar, 0,loeated in front of and below the said bars 0 O, and rigidly secured to the reaches. 011 top of each one of the reaches I This bar is rigidly connected,"

rigidly secure eye-brackets or cars a a, a (1?, and in front of the eye brackets a", I secure to the reaches the standards D D of a drivers seat,D. The brackets or cars, above described, on the reaches afford bearings for two line bars or pintles, E E. Between the ears ac, on each one of the reaches, is received on a line bar or pintle, E, a strap, 2), which is pivoted to the rear end of a lever or arm, F. This arm is pivoted at f toanother arm, F, the front end of which is pivoted 'to an eye-piece, g, adapted to slide back and forward on the bars or pintles E. Now, it will be observed that I have one lever, F, on each side of the carriage, atits rear end, which is pivoted to a pintlestrap, b, connected by a fulcrum-pin at f, and that I have another lever which is pivoted at its front end to a slide, 5/. It will also be observed that the extremities of these levers are verse bars 0, and on these screw-shafts are.

keyed pinion spur-wheels 71. 71 which engage with a large spur-wheel, It, on a shaft, 7f, hav- "ing a perimeter-spur, h, on its lower end,

which engages with a worm, h on a handwheel shaft, h.

At the upper termini of the levers or arms of the extension-levers above described are pivoted ears and i i, to which are connected rods J J These rods are pintlcs, and they are joined by ears 3' to a platform or cab, K, which may be braced and strapped, as shown in the annexed drawings. The floor It of this platform or cab K has an opening or hatch- 5 way through its floor which is provided with a cover, 7c, and from the base of the floor at k is hung a flexible ladder, L, which bears against and is guided by the intermediate transverse rods, G, of the extension-levers,

IOO

and it therefore not only steadies the ladder, 1 It is obvious that the natural elasticity or but aflords many hand-holds for persons ascending or descending the inside of the extensible frame. The lower endof this flexible ladder L is attached to a Windlass, M, which has its bearings in the reaches of the carriage, and which bears against said reaches, and on one end a crank-arm, M, having. a handle. It is obvious that this ladder may be made up of a meterial which will not readily burn when subjected to ordinary heat; and I also contemplate constructing all of these parts of my fire-escape which may be subjected to intense heat of a material and in .such manner that they will not injurously be impaired.

At the upper end of my vertically-extensible and portable fire-escape I have a horizontally-extensible fireproof bridge, 1?. This bridge is composed of two rails or walls, P P, which are extensible and provided with a flexible fire-proof floor, Pas, for instance, canvas(saturated in alum-Water) or other flexible refractory material which will extend and contract with the frame of the bridge. To practically construct such abridge I prefer to employ what are known as lazy-tongs or extension-levers, and to connect the inner ends of the lower series of levers to standards N N, rising from said platform-floor, and to allow the upper ends of the upper series of said levers to be guided by a stirrup, S, using long handles T T for the purpose of extending and contracting the bridge.

It will be seen from the above description that I am able to extend and to contract the tion by the internal bracing-bars thereof, which bars afford, in addition to the rounds of the 1adder,a safe means of descent and escape from a burning structure.

yielding qualities of the ladder,when erected, will allow the platform to be moved toward a window.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A vertically-extensible portable frame, in combination with a horizontally-extensible bridge provided with a flexible fire-proof canvas floor and means for extending the same, all substantially as described.

2. Thecombination, with the reaches of a A carriage, of an extensiblelaz'y-tongs frame, an extensible platform at the upper end thereof provided with a fire-proof fabric, applied as described, with a ladder arranged inside of said frame and adapted to bear on the internal fulcrum-bars of the levers thereof, substantially as described.

3. The combination of vertically-movable lazytongs or levers, the platform at the upper end thereof, the horizontally-extensible bridge provided with a flexible floor, the internal bracing-bars, G, a Windlass and a lever, T, all constructed and adapted to operate substantially in the manner and for the purposes described.

4. The combination of a vertically-extensible lazy-tongs frame, with a cage or platform at the upper end thereof, a horizontally-extensible frame applied to the said platform, and flexible fire-proof canvas floor therefor, substantially as described.

5. In a fire-escape, the combination of a horizontally-extensible fire-proof bridge, a flexible fire-proof floor therefor, a verticallyextensible frame, a flexible ladder inside thereof, and a carriage on which the whole is mounted, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JESSE A. ORANDALL.

\Vitnesses:

W. R. KEYWORIH, F. O. MCCLEARY. 

